| The main topic of this thesis is to describe and analyse the interpersonal trust in the Chinese society. In the first chapter of the thesis, the background of the research, more detailed research questions, the theoretical and practical significance of the research are discussed, and relevant concepts are clarified. In the second chapter of the thesis, a thorough literature review is conducted, on which an analytical framework of the research is developed. That is to say, the Rational Approach, the Cultural and Institutional Approach and the As-if Approach are all critically reviewed, and the analytical framework of this research, i.e., a Practice-sense based theoretical frame is well developed in this section. In the third chapter of the thesis, the Long Interview as the Methodology of the research is discussed in detail, and questions such as why pick up qualitative research methodology and why choose the Long Interview as the method of the research are answered, and the technical skills of the methodology are introduced. The Fourth chapter of the thesis is a descriptive one, and the perceptions of my interviewees on the ideal interpersonal trust in China are represented, and their understandings of the reality of the interpersonal trust in the Chinese society are described, too. According to my interviewees, the interpersonal trust in China today is highly limited, and its extreme outcome, i.e., a cynical version of the interpersonal trust is witnessed in China. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 are explanatory ones, and in Chapter 5, a Tacit but Dualist Mechanism of everyday practice in the Chinese society is introduced and it is indicated that this mechanism has a highly negative influence on the interpersonal trust; and in Chapter 6, the political games, that is, the Anti-right Movement and the Great Culture Revolution in particular, are re-examined and the ways how these political games reinforced a Tacit but Dualist Mechanism are discussed, and causal relationship between the political games and the limited, or even the cynical version of, interpersonal trust is represented; and in Chapter 7, the Reform and Open-door Policy, and especially the Tacit but Dualist Mechanism by which the Reform and Open-door Policy was carried out, are historically re-examined, and its negative social effect, namely a so called malfunctioning society and its impact on the interpersonal trust are analyzed and represented. Chapter 8 is the final section of the thesis, and the main findings and the possible limitations of the research are introduced, and the significance of the research to individuals, group and the community as a whole is discussed, and shallow suggestions of what and how to do further studies in the trust field are provided. |
